Jeffrey Skilling, the former chief executive of collapsed energy trading firm Enron, has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for his part in a securities fraud that spurred change in corporate governance laws in the US.

Skilling was found guilty in May on 19 counts of securities and wire fraud but was found not guilty of insider trading. He faced a sentence of between of 24 to 30 years in prison.

According to Bloomberg, US District Court Judge Sim Lake said: “The evidence establishes that the defendant repeatedly lied to investors.”

Skilling had been convicted alongside Kenneth Lay, the founder of Enron. Lay died in July and his convictions were annulled last week as his appeal was pending.

Enron had a market capitalisation of more than $60bn (€48bn) and was one of the largest companies in the US. It went bankrupt in December 2001 after the accounting manipulation engineered by Lay, Skilling, and Andrew Fastow, the former chief financial officer, was exposed. Fastow has been given a six-year sentence after cooperating with prosecutors and helping them secure Skilling's conviction.

A clutch of accountancies, law firms and investment banks were also investigated in relation to Enron's fraudulent activities.